TWO policemen allegedly handcuffed and raped a "lone and vulnerable" woman on the backseat of their patrol car, a court heard yesterday.

PC Raymond Waring, 31, and PC Stephen McGuire, 33, allegedly attacked the 21-year-old woman in the early hours of New Year's Eve 2002 in a lonely park in Warrington, Cheshire.

A jury at Chester Crown Court were told the officers, from Cheshire Constabulary, raped the woman after offering her a lift home following a fight at a pub.

Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said their offer to take her home was "less than honourable".

He said: "The prosecution case is that on New Year's Eve the motives of these officers in offering her a lift was less than honourable.

"This was no act of kindness, rather an opportunity they seized to get a lone and vulnerable female in the back seat of their police car in order to have sex with her."

The court heard PC Waring, from St Helens, and PC McGuire, from Widnes, Cheshire, parked their car in Victoria Park in Warrington where they handcuffed the woman.

Waring then pushed her on to the back seat and started to remove her clothes, the court heard.

When his alleged victim asked what he was doing, he shouted at her, "Shut up slag" before raping her.

Mr Wright told the court: "Still reeling from the shock of the attack the victim lay on the back seat of the police car but her ordeal was far from over.

"She was then confronted by Mr McGuire who approached her in the same way as Mr Waring, ignoring her protests.

"The victim was crying throughout pleading with him not to rape her."

After the attack the officers calmly drove her home and wished her a Happy New Year as they dropped her off, the court heard.

Both officers face two counts of rape and a charge of misconduct in public office relating to the incident on December 31.

Waring faces another misconduct charge for committing a further sexual act with a woman in a police vehicle on August 11, 2002.

The prosecution claim Waring and McGuire deliberately targeted their victim, who had been drinking heavily, as they thought no-one would believe her if she ever reported them.

Mr Wright told the court that the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was left in a state of "deep shock, disbelief and embarrassment" following the attack and turned to drink.

She kept the alleged attack a secret until April 2004, when she got in trouble with police for being drunk and disorderly and assaulting a police officer.

The court heard she confided in her solicitor who alerted the authorities. Waring and McGuire were suspended in May 2004.

The court heard that during a meeting with the chairman of the Cheshire Police Federation, Waring allegedly admitted having sex with the woman claiming: "I never raped her, she was up for it so we gave her one. It was consensual."

He later denied saying this but admitted the woman had asked for a New Year's Eve kiss and he obliged, the jury heard.

McGuire, who is married with two children, denies being involved in any sexual act at all.

During the investigation, forensic experts discovered traces of semen and the DNA of another person on the backseat of a police car, the court heard.

Experts matched the DNA to Waring and another person, who was not the alleged rape victim.

Waring, who is separated from his wife, admitted he had been having an affair and had consensual sex with another woman in the patrol car.